Traditional research has confronted only Mexican and United States interpretations of Mexican–American culture. Now we must also examine the culture as we Mexican Americans have experienced it, passing from a sovereign people compatriots with newly arriving settlers to, finally a conquered people—a charter minority on our own land.
When the Spanish first came to Mexico, they intermarried with and absorbed the culture of the indigenous Indians. This policy of colonization through acculturation was continued when Mexico acquired Texas in the early 1800’s and brought the indigenous Indians into Mexican life and government. In the 1820’s United State citizens migrated to Texas, attracted by land suitable for cotton.
As their numbers became more substantial, their policy of acquiring land by subduing native populations began to dominate. The two ideologies clashed repeatedly, culmination in a military conflict that led to victory for the United States. Thus, suddenly derived of our parent culture, we had to evolve uniquely Mexican-Mexican modes of thought and action in order to survive.
According to the passage, a major difference between the colonization policy of the United States and that of Mexico in Texas in the 1800’s was the _____.
- A.degree to which policies were based on tradition
- B.form of economic interdependency between different cultural groups
- C.treatment of the native inhabitants
- D.relationship between the military and the settlers
正确答案及解析
正确答案
解析
根据第二段可知，美国和墨西哥对德克萨斯的殖民化的主要不同在于，墨西哥人和土著印第安人通婚，并吸收他们的文化。而美国却征服当地人。因此，主要区别是对待当地居民的态度不同。